Jason Statham for Volkswagen

Spark assisted VWN and Scholz & Friends to bring their latest campaign to life.  Jason Statham is the new brand ambassador for the new VW Transporter. The ad campaign also makes references to Jason Statham’s iconic role as Frank in the movie series “The Transporter”, created by legendary French director Luc Besson.

The new transporter van was presented at the IAA in Hanover. This is also where it was revealed that Jason Statham will have a lead role in the advertising of the new model. So more to come!

Kathrin Heinemann, head of Spark Hamburg,  had the project lead at Spark.

Kathrin, what was the main complexity behind this project?
“The project involved not only getting Jason Statham as the brand ambassador for VWN,we also had to clear the film rights as the campaign uses references to the  “The Transporter” movie series, created by Luc Besson in 2002. This means that every creative, every timing, every step along the way needed to be cleared across all involved parties. But after 20 years in the business we are used to deal with the complexities of being the interface between brand, management and rights representations. All three Spark offices were involved in making this deal happen, each with its own expertise.”

What would you recommend to a brand manager with the vision of a great campaign, but afraid of the complexity of the necessary rights clearances? After all, it takes time and money?
“I would say, don’t risk compromising the quality of your project only because the rights clearances seem to be too complex. The best advice I can give you is to be clear in what you need from the start of the negotiations. Make sure to include all requirements  from the very beginning. What usually is creating complexity, is when you need to clear additional rights once the contract is signed. And most importantly, get the right partners on board, like Spark! We also draft all the agreements and take care of all details of the negotiations with you and for you.”